Tyler Harber’s prosecution, and the two year federal prison
sentence he recently received, are clearly warning shots across the bow of
federal political campaigns around the country. And the blatant and
unsympathetic nature of Mr. Harber’s crime should give no comfort to those
watching and advising political candidates and campaigns. The United States
Department of Justice means to pursue the illegal coordination between official
campaigns and Super PACs, and Mr. Harber’s is the first of many investigations
into the world of big money politics coming to an election cycle near
you. Now, Mr. Harber is not a guy who engenders much sympathy.
During a three month period in 2012 he was Campaign Manager and general
consultant for a Congressional Candidate in Virginia. While leading that campaign
he directly coordinated and participated in the purchase of $325,000 in
advertising by a political action committee (PAC) that opposed his candidate’s
opponent, and thus benefitted his candidate. He was paid more than $9,000
as a “commission” for his work.

Judge sentences former Ragsdale aide Tyler Harber to 2 years in federal prison
(Knocville New Sentinel)

A nationally prominent political operative whose abrasive,
anything-to-win style frequently landed him in trouble in Knoxville a decade ago is going to prison for
two years for breaking federal campaign laws.

Tyler Harber, who worked as an aide to former Knox County
Mayor Mike Ragsdale but now lives in northern Virginia, was sentenced Friday by
U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady in Alexandria, Va. Harber said he also was
motivated in part because he had seen other political operatives commit the
same offenses without being caught and prosecuted. Harber, 34, pleaded guilty in February to illegally coordinating
campaign spending between a political-action committee he had helped create and
a Virginia
congressional campaign he was managing in 2012. He also pleaded guilty to lying
to FBI agents investigating his activities. “The defendant’s criminal conduct
was not borne of ignorance, naiveté or mistake,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark
D. Lytle wrote in a pre-sentencing memo filed with the court. “Rather, the
conduct engaged in here was undertaken by an intelligent and careful man with
significant experience in politics and campaign finance. He knew exactly what
he was doing and exactly the best way to conceal it from his party and from law
enforcement.” “He is, in short,” Lytle said, “the most dangerous sort of
political operative by virtue of his knowledge and experience.”Lytle had recommended that O’Grady sentence Harber to 46
months in prison.